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Photo courtesy of Yonhap News |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] South Korean prosecutors have launched raids on major refiners over suspected price collusion as global oil prices surge amid the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office said on March 23 that it conducted search and seizure operations at five entities, including four major refiners—SK Energy, GS Caltex, S-Oil, and HD Hyundai Oilbank—as well as the Korea Petroleum Association, on suspicion of violating the Fair Trade Act.
The companies are accused of colluding to raise domestic fuel and petroleum product prices—or to prevent them from falling below a certain level—by taking advantage of sharp increases in global oil prices following the outbreak of the Iran conflict.
The investigation comes two weeks after President Lee Jae-myung called for “strict sanctions” against alleged collusion in the oil sector. On March 9, Lee warned that authorities would take firm action against illegal practices such as collusion, hoarding, and price manipulation, and impose penalties several times greater than any illicit gains.
Prosecutors are reportedly expanding the scope of the investigation to periods prior to the outbreak of the conflict, examining whether refiners engaged in structural coordination to influence prices beyond supply-driven increases.
Separately, the Fair Trade Commission has also launched its own probe into possible collusion among refiners, conducting on-site inspections of the four companies earlier this month.
In an effort to curb the pass-through of rising global oil prices to domestic consumers, the government introduced a temporary price cap on petroleum products on March 13.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
